'The $300 House' Challenge

Work in progress
A house in the form of a hexagon.
I build the house with the new building material "Honeycom Plate" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK534Bl-mDc in a Hexagom Plot.
Here a India Firm we produce this material: www.vasparhoneycomb.com

Why are there slums? Why do people move into a slum?Refugees and very poor people have nothing. A few household items, some clothes and your life, nothing else. A person in Europe can hardly understand it, he must have been there to understand it can be.Some people are in the country to escape debt, and very. What can a refugee to do to survive? He moves to a citythere to participate by the rich people. He studied there running small jobs that anyone can (do laundry, errands,act with objects, ...) If it does not work, he can still pull out from the garbage of megacities recyclables or food related.Primary causes for the Slumbildung is poverty in the country and the lack of employment opportunities in rural areas. Most expectpeople in the cities of better living conditions and hope to gain a higher income. With the onset of rural exodusIt comes in the cities to housing shortages, which led to the establishment of informal settlements.

What is a slum?From rubbish to the roadside, or wherever a spot is free and you no one bothers large, cardboard, plastic sheets and aAccommodation patched up. There are no sewers, sanitary facilities (all the necessities done). The roads are dirty with mud, standing water, food scraps and garbage. It stinks everywhere. Garbage attracts many animals to (insects, birds, rodents, ...)Here's a little video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsKNVhYS7oY

What are the problems of slums?- Small, dirty houses, which were built from garbage.- Bad ways (mud, puddles, garbage, ...)- General waste. In streets and squares waste is dumped, which stinks beastly. At some point the garbage on fire and a bitingSmoke permeates the streets.- Social order: Everyone is aware of the next. People have few social ties. It is purely a struggle for survival, itarises from crime and gangs.Other problems: disease, despair, ..

Solution:- Simple but clean accommodation, which can be extended gradually, depending on family status.- Sanitary facilities (fresh water, industrial water, relieve themselves, wash area for the body and clothes)- Clean-way (free of garbage, puddles, ...)- Social bonds are to be supported- Creation of income opportunities - must be jobs created by rural division of labor (eg refuse collection)- The man should be (co-) owner, for only when he heard one cares.- Co-determination may have to the people.- A man must see the he is doing better (hope).- Training opportunities- Since most people come out of the country, should maybe be possible to grow food (Self Catering)

The cheap, own house offers:Protection from animals and humans criminal, security, somewhere to sleep and rest, food store, of objects andFood, maintain social contact, air, water, food, and maybe eventually the need to maintain his house and be proud ofHouse to be. In addition, it should be financial security, because we know that it has a value.

The most important basic requirements in brief:- Protection (against rain, wind, sun)- Security (from animals (insects, rodents, ...) and criminals)- Privacy- Good indoor climate (the house will not heat up by the sun), access to air and light- Open space to cook- Sleeper,- A square in front of the house (for a chair, bicycle, handcart, ...)- To expand the house or are still ways to live in groups.- Stellmöglicheiten on the wall (cabinets, table)- Storage options of goods- Standard size (therefore cheap to build, but expandable) - Not less than 10 square meters (otherwise unfit for human habitation), no larger than 16 square meters, asotherwise too expensive (material + space) - but easy to extend. Perfect size 12 - 14 sqm.- Opportunities- Cost - as low as possible (under $ 300)- Self constructable - technical without a crane or large funds.- Quick constructable - within 1 day- Local building materials- Approx. 1-4 Sleeps- The house must be easily cleaned.- Easy abteilbar (to produce Privatsspähre)- House can be assembled with simple (no large appliances, building instructions, possibly with pictures)- It should look a little unusual to emphasize the novelty.- All homes should be equal, but variable. The conclusion is formed. Everyone starts the same, but everyone can change it. ACompetition is emerging.

The floor plan:Thus, for example honeycomb shaped hexagonal. The reason is obvious: Round or octagonal honeycomb would be for theAvailable space left blank - the result would be useless voids. Square-shaped or even triangular honeycombs, however, would moreBuilding materials require. Thus, the evolution over millions of years provided that the hexagonal pattern prevailed.Interestingly, these animals displayed a nearly optimal way of building such cells - from all sorts of gapsmounting utilizing hexagonal cell lines have the best ratio of wall material to volume.

For this reason, hexagonal shapes are also used in the art, such as to stabilize structures (most economicalDistribution of the reinforced points), for example in structured sheets.Through the plan, the house is very stable.

Basic information:Size: hexagonSize: 2.25 m side length of the hexagonTotal area of the hexagon: about 13 square metersHeight: 2.5 mWindow: a large ceiling light in the middle arranged centered, for air and light

One-room house (hexagon) with dome light and pull-down room dividers.The unusual floor plan is characterized by a minimized exploration and high functionality and provides ample storage spacerefined by the use of each niche.The approximately circular structure allows the central arrangement of a glass cupola, the Erschließungssraum of the house lit up in the corners with light.On the flat roof, it is possible to plant crops, possibly food.The facade is plain, white in order to sun, dirt-repellent.From the conception of space is the house with a floor space of approximately 13 square meters intended for a family with two children.The living area is located along with the sleeping space along the wall (6 walls).Because of the ceiling height of 2.5 meters - the rooms are visually even bigger than they really are.The dome light provides a light and air,Enter rash of high thermal insulation is the building material.

With the hexagon my optimal form has been found to build affordable houses - from all sorts of geometric figures have consistently mounting utilizing hexagonal the best ratio of wall material to volume.The compact form of the wind sweeps slightly around and over the house. The interior conveys the round shape and domed roof top the feeling of a vast space.The dome light also serves as a smoke hole, and Clock, because depending on the lighting situation you can determine the time exactly.

The building material - building material with which bees build their honeycomb?Of course, wood, or wood pulp. And that's why we build our house from a wood pulp, from a special material.

As a sandwich board with a honeycomb core (abbreviated honeycomb plate) is a three-layer composite structure in sandwich constructiondescribed, which consists of two supporting skins and a honeycomb core support. The support core is also known as English. Honeycomb (dtCalled honeycomb), and can be made from cardboard, resin-impregnated paper, fiber, or thin aluminum foils. TheCovering skins can be made of cardboard, plastic, fiber composite and sheet metal. Different combinations of materials betweenSupport core and deck skins are possible, supporting core and skins are glued üblichwerweise.

Advantage: Small space consumptionFlexible way recesses e.g. to prepare for door with a jigsaw.

This honeycomb panels are manufactured from waste wood, resin and knowledge.Lightweight and extremely durableThe honeycomb paper for the house are made of 0.4 millimeter thick paper. It is impregnated in plastic, at 190 degree Celsius highPressure in the form of pressed and welded into long drives. They are top and bottom with glass fiber reinforced polyester surfacesconnected. How resilient are the so-formed walls, Gerd Niemöller prove in an experiment. It defines an approximately 40 centimeterswide and a foot long strip of the honeycomb wall with a long side on a step, the other on the floor. TheHoneycomb is only two inches thick and weighs just a pound. The inventor stands on the honeycomb wall. Nothing happened. Sinceyou could put on it, four other men, says Gerd Niemoller. The plate was static enough even for multi-storey houses.

Safe as a house of stoneHard to believe, but the "Africa House" meets all safety standards. The paper honeycomb start thanks to its hard coating and self-extinguish fire - without smoke. If the honeycomb or foam core, you need a 1,000 degree flame, hot 30Minutes to blow around. The foam in the cells not only increases the fire safety but also ensures a good thermal andCold insulation. The foam-filled walls to withstand not only wind, rain and frost, but even earthquakes. The house of paper canbe used in all climates. An important prerequisite for the house to rescue of the occupants in the event ofNatural disaster and offer to be used in third world countries. According to the inventor, it has a lifetime ofat least 50 years.Quote from: http://www.mdr.de/einfach-genial/6687867.html

That sounds like a perfect building material. References: www.the-wall.ch / www.consido-agHere are some videos:http://consido-ag.com/index.php?option=com_pressearchiv&view=pressearchiv&Itemid=59&lang=de

I agree with the hexagonal shape and the use of the light.
I believe that, as in my idea (probably still too expensive), we miss the opportunity to use the materials available.
I think it's difficult to get used to think that nobody will take the necessary material to these poor people.
Can we think of how to integrate our ideas with the use of products available locally?

The wall is made from Honeycombs panels, which is make out Wastepaper and resin. And I still found a firm which produce this in India: www.vasparhoneycomb.com
And this is very cheap. And the best is - which knowledge you can produce this by yourself. I post the video later.
Here some Information:
An inspiration from nature. Discovered by man.

The new-age, avante garde building block of the future, CFH will change the face of industry, the progress of employment and the future of India. And indeed, the world.

Extraordinarily strong, light and ingeniously-designed, Cellulose Fibre honeycomb (CFH) is the distinctive solution to several complex production and manufacturing complexities, It is eco-friendly, energy-conserving, economical, light, and easily substituted for all other known material: cement, concrete, plastic, wood, fibre glass, thermocole and such like. Today, CFH is all set to revitalize the industries of prefab construction, packaging, manufacturing, furniture, freight and several more sectors. Almost every industry in the world.
Text from www.vasparhoneycomb.com
You see its local.

Just a little more Information:
Our process is manufacturing honeycomb using recycled Cellulose Fibre adopting a natural drying and setting process. The machines we have developed to make this Cellulose Fibre honeycomb are mechanical. We also employ a large amount of people from the rural sector to man the process. Vaspar Cellulose Fibre Honeycomb is not only ultralight and robust but also inexpensive and completely eco-friendly.
Vaspar Cellulose Fibre Honeycomb (VCH) is:

Eco-friendly  VCH is not only made from recycled Cellulose Fibre but is produced in a completely eco-friendly way using zero-power.

Lightweight  The end product will look and act just like cement or wood but weigh much lesser.

Economical  Using recycled Cellulose Fibre brings down the cost of this material in comparison to others by a huge margin. Since the process uses zero-power, the overall cost of VCH is much lesser.

Quick-to-build  VCH products are quick to build as they take much lesser time to assemble.

Durable  Products using VCH are made to withstand weather, fire and pests.
Vaspar Cellulose Fibre Honeycomb is a definite solution to addressing the economic and ecological challenges. Applications of this avant-garde product could just be the answers we have been waiting for.
Text from: www.vasparhoneycomb.com

1) The walls will need less space YES
2) Modular YES
3) The houses should be stackable-> less land consumption YES
4) The firms should use little space> good outline YES
5) Material should be easy to transport (folded) YES
6) You should be able to take the house apart again YES
7) Self-modifiable YES
8) Beautiful design YES
9) Combined self
Prefabricated 10th) in the factory, similar, good quality YES
11) Conserve raw YES
12) New jobs to be created YES
13) The house should be Aubauer period of days YES
14) The house should be recyclable YES
15) It is the houses can combine YES

Intriguing approach! I would like to see an exact calculation of the costs so we can follow your cost estimate. Maybe some more slides to picture the actual house better?
Looking forward to seeing your updates!

Nice concept. I like the cellulose product, usually abundant in poverty driven areas & I think I read in there that the local population would be involved in the manufacture. Hopefully the machinery, plant, manufacturing is local giving them work once the community is built.

Here you can see how the local community produce the honeycombs. Is still amazing what you can do with this.
Here the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS7YmsxfOSw or
And here you find a lots of Infos about this material:
http://www.youtube.com/user/vasparhoneycomb#p/u/6/r8Nz7C0uYMk

And sure, you can not only produce walls. You can produce your completly Furniture with this product.